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Updated:
07/10/2009

Carrara on the
Gold Coast

When
Brisbane received the VFL License, it was assumed that the club would be based
at the "Gabba" where the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) finals
were played. Bankroller Christopher Skase had other ideas. He decided to base
the Bears at Carrara, a Gold Coast hinterland suburb, about 65 Klms from
Brisbane where a football ground the same dimensions as the MCG already existed.
Initially this was thought to be a temporary arrangement. However Skase along
with Paul Cronin, the chairman, reasoned that the Gold Coast would attract more
Victorian visitors as well as already boasting a large ex-Southern population.
The egg shaped Gabba and surrounding dog track were also less suited to
football.

They
successfully managed to get the QAFL and a large percentage of the Brisbane
based football followers offside. This led to the total blackout of the Bears in
the Brisbane media and the coining of such terms as "The Badnews Bears" and the
"Carrara Koalas". The ground had temporary toilets, temporary change rooms,
temporary offices, temporary grandstands and a temporary atmosphere. This led to
poor performances both on and off the field. While some officials dined on food
specially flown up from Melbourne, the supporters and players had few
facilities.

The demise of Skase's Quintex empire
saw players not paid and the club was on the verge of extinction. The AFL
managed to convince Ruben Pelerman to buy the license. Mr. Pelerman had
extensive hotel and hospitality businesses along with a private hospital. He had
been very active in sports sponsorship in the past but the Bears became a
bottomless pit. He quickly realised that private ownership of AFL clubs in
Australia, with its small population and vast distances, was not financial and
he looked to put the club back on a traditional membership based footing.

In 1991 the club played some home games at the
Gabba and received enough support to convince the Queensland Government and
Gabba trust that the Bears were a viable winter tenant. This led to the
redevelopment of the ground and in 1993 the Brisbane Bears were eventually based
in Brisbane.